West Suburban Training Programs and Seasons for 2025

Practice locations are  Western Springs, Hinsdale, Downers Grove, Westmont,

THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED AS A GENERAL GUIDANCE TO THE CF PROGRAMS!  PLEASE LOOK AT THE REGISTRATION PAGE AND CALENDAR FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMTION.

Summer Schedule and Registration will be posted by March 9th. There are no try-outs. Anyone with a desire to train is welcome to join the Flyers.

Teams:

Winter Warrior Running Club, January February,  9 -14 year olds. Must be able to run a 4:30' 800M on January 8th.

Track Season, April through July 17th,  6 years (5/1) through high school  Registration and details  by March 17, 2025. HS posted in April.

Cross Country Season, August through November,  9-14 year olds  Registration and details open July.

 

Clinics:

Winter Speed Clinic, January  and February Sundays.

Hurdle Clinic, TBD.

Spring Track Clinic,   March Sundays 3-5 PM. Kids 9-15 years.

Spring Track Clinic (above) plus Preseason Track Training, March Tuesday/Thursday, 4:30-6 PM. Westmont area.

 

Private and remote training:

High School athletes post season-summer.

Sprinters/Speed/XC-fall/winter.

GENERAL INFO:

Primary practice locations Western Springs/Hinsdale/Downers Grove/Westmont and forest preserves

2024 SUMMER TRACK (use this as a guideline, otherwise, go directly the season registration and calendar/events on the home page for up-to-date info.

The LITTLE FLYERS program is 3-4 days of weekly practices of the short season, as well as, a few Sunday practices in April and early May.  Practices will be the same length as the Chicago Flyers. Little Flyers must be born in 2016-2018. Mature (emotionally, physically and training), Little Flyers may get bumped up to the regular Chicago Flyers at the discretion of the Head Coach following a few weeks of training.  Training for Little Flyers early season will address 100/200/400/800.  Speed/technique/fun. Longer distances can be discussed after mastering the basics.

The CHICAGO FLYERS, 9 and older, will offer training for the 100/200/400/800/1500/3000. In addition to event groups of sprint, mid and distance, we hope to offer advanced training which includes a private strength coach for the committed/developed athlete.

The ANNUAL FEE ($50) covers AAU membership (term 9/1/2023 to 8/31/2024) and a very small amount of administrative costs.  The AAU membership is required for the Flyers Liability.  If your athlete participated in the 2023 Cross Country Season for the Flyers or the Winter Warriors, please ensure that you do not pay the fee!

The PRACTICE GROUP FEE includes all coaching hours, track rentals, new team t-shirt, team manual, prizes, awards, and random costs of adventures. Coaching hours for each group are: Little Flyers  76, CF Short Season 78, CF Full Season 93.

MEET REGISTRATION  will be addressed during a parent zoom call in May. A competition fee of $140 includes 5 meets, including the AAU State Championship and National Qualifier. If choosing to pay for meets individually, there will be an additional $10 fee applied in addition to each meet fee.  Average meet cost is $25.

AGE GROUPS

• Little Flyers, 5.5 to 8 years 6-8 years of age on 12/31/2024
• Chicago Flyers, 9 and older

PRACTICE REGISTRATION GROUPS

• Little Flyers
• Chicago Flyers Full Season
• Chicago Flyers Short Season  (Either full time April 10-July 3 or Sundays in April/May and full time from May 17-July 20)
• Chicago Flyers 1-day per week  (by approval only-email [email protected] for details.

MEET SCHEDULE Chicago area unless noted. This is the possible  2023 schedule. Updates will occur on the event section of our site.  It is important to try to plan vacations after the AAU Regional Meet.

• June 2/3   Hand Off and See Me Fly or AAU Northern National meet
• June 8/9  AAU District Meet (Top 8-16 advance to regional meet)
• June 22 Palatine Pack Fun meet
• June 18   Jane Dickens Invite
• July 4-7  AAU Regional Meet (National Qualifier. Top 8-16 advance to nationals.) NIU
• July 13 Palatine Pack Fun meet
• July 16   Chicago Flyers meet.
• July 30-August 6   AAU Junior Olympic Games, Des Moines, IA

SPECIAL EVENTS

• June 6 (tentative) Parent practice and meeting
• June 9 or 12 (tbd) Adult Fundraiser with alumni parents and athletes
• June 15 Optional Flyers fundraiser at the track for athletes.
• June 23 Bowling/pizza  party for coaches and athletes who met 100% of goal.
• July 10  Family forest run and team banquet

The following is to serve as an outline for all years for cross country.

2021 Cross Country Season

Chicago Flyers Team-Kids 9-15 years. (If you have an experienced and mature younger child, send an email to discuss.)

Location

1. West Team-Westmont/Hinsdale/Downers Grove area and forest preserves

Two Seasons

1. Full Season is August 30-November 21. 
2. Short Season is all Sundays, and week day practices after school XC season ends. Club soccer players will be considered for the short season if they attend a minimum of 1 practice per week.

Westmont Area

XC Full Season Training, 3 days = T/TH, 4:30-6:15 PM, Westmont area and Sunday, 4-6 PM

XC Short Season-All Sunday Practices, 4-6 PM and starting October 11^th, T/TH, 4:30-6:15 PM @ Westmont area

A multi-athlete discount is available for the 3rd + member.

Registration Tips:

We use an excellent system to manage our team. You may find it challenging at first, but eventually, it will make all of our lives more efficient.

When you register, you will need to select your season based on the child's age and season length preference and location.

Requirements to run XC-

Athlete:

1. Keep shoes tied.  Bring all team gear to every practice.
2. Full Season - be able at the first August practice  to run 5 minutes without stopping (fast and technically correct not important) and a desire to improve.
3. Short Season by October 11^th be able to run age group race distance at practice, 12 and under -3k, 13 and over 4k.
4. Follow the team rules for safety.
5. Be on time for practices.

Parents:

1. Volunteer 4 hours per household.
2. Attend a parent zoom call or meeting.
3. Access the team website on a browser for complete information versus only using the app.
4. Accept or Decline attendance for all meets.

Meet Schedule has not been set  but this is a possibility:

• September 25 City Invitational
• October 2 Belvidere Tornados
• October 23  Elgin Sharks (CCCNYC Qualifier)
• November 6 Rockford Wildcats
• November 13  AAU State Meet (CCCNYC Qualifier)
• November 20 Cross Country Coaches National Youth Championship, Paris, KY.

Athletes only run in one event, 13-14 4k, 9-12 3k, 15-18 5k, 8 and under 2k. Families can often arrive 90 minutes prior to their event and leave immediately after thanking teammates, coaches and competitors!  Meets usually run 9-1PM, youngest to oldest. 

Practices inlcude technique, team value, speed, distance, running games, journals (XC only) stations, adventures, fun and friendships.  Within a short period of time, kids will be running 4- 6+ miles at some of the practice with all  of the activities.  We emphasize quality miles (fast and with excellent technique) over long, slow running.